Arsis: Followers of the Rising Song
by WrittenAvarice
Summary: Step into the strange world of Alan Davis, where only two years after going to live with his brother Michael, he's in trouble again. But after a strange encounter with a menacing demon, the stakes appear to be much higher than ever before. R&R for more!
1. Prologue

The moment the world blinked out of existence, was one of the most awe inspiring moments I'll ever remember. I was scared of what would come through after us at first, but once the light faded, and the world disappeared, a new sense of freedom washed over me. The sounds of waves crashing, thunder roaring, and the fighting Gods all bled into complete silence.

For many of us, this was the end.

We were the survivors of a great horror, and a great rescue. Many screamed as the darkness crept around us, holding us from certain oblivion as blue stars flew past our faces, and many were too scared to even breathe. We were all on another rollercoaster; passengers to a madman and his loyalties. But looking back, I can only smile in admiration and admonishment.

_Goddamned girl, _I thought, screaming at mach two down a rabbit hole the size of a whale shark. _Goddamned girl…_

A soft hand grabbed my shoulder, trembling and scared. I knew she would be, more than anyone else. "Please," She whispered in my ear as I watched the small blue dots become thin blue lines in the distance. "Please don't tell me what's going on."

One nervous laugh and a cough later, I found the only thing I could say was, "Would you believe me if I said it wasn't as bad as it sounds?"

Silence passed as the others screamed, whether in shock or genuine fear I'll never know. Though, with it, came a muffled boom. And with that, came a whole new reason to be scared.

"Not anymore I wouldn't."

An unsure smile pulled my right cheek back, and a burn in my chest was telling me I wish I'd have listened to my brother, and just took the damn cigarette. Funny how life can be changed by something so stupid, eh?

_Goddamned girl…_

"Oh well, not much we can do now but wait and see." Even if it kills us all…


	2. Of Sound Mind and Bloodied Strangers

"Hi, my name is Alan, and—"Before I could even finish, I was blown off; Waved away by a group of passing cheerleaders as if I were the hired help asking for the queen's autograph. But who could blame them, they had their own stuff to take care of, let alone show some nerd where his homeroom class was. So alone I stood in the hallway, looking for room A-12, with a stupid expression on my face and a real yearning that I was elsewhere. _I'm sure home would be nice right about now._

I tried asking other people, but before I could get a word in edge-wise, they'd just shoot me down and hurry along; rushing to their first impressions and awaiting friends. Everyone was hurrying though, so I could definitely see where the mild-panic was coming from, peer pressure. If people were in a hurry, suddenly all that time you thought you had, wasn't worth much, and so you rush, ignoring a lone stranger. But after a while, the disassociation with these people grew from mild inconvenience to utter annoyance.

_What's wrong with these people? _No matter how hard I tried, they just ignored me and pressed on, too busy to take a measly second to show a stranger to his classroom. And even though they didn't know me, it didn't excuse their behavior. I didn't smell, I wasn't odd looking, they just didn't know me. _I wonder how my brother would get their attention…_

But before I had a chance to ponder, the bell rang, and I was even later than I'd been a few minutes earlier and still I had no idea where to go. This was why I should have just stayed home schooled in the first place. There's no people, no schedule, and no rush to bolt from one hallway to the next. I hated school, and the first day is always the worst. _What I'd give to just have my workbooks mailed to me! At least then I can sleep 'til ten!_

After three years here, you'd think someone, _anyone_ would recognize me. But no! I'm too shy to introduce myself to people, and I did my best last year to stay unnoticed, so now I'm stuck with the fruits of my labor. I mean, sure there were some kids I knew from class, but none of them were actual friends. And so, here I was; no friends, no directions, and no clue as to what to do about finding my home room. Though, it's not to say I didn't come across a bit of luck as I ran smack into an intersection in the halls.

Butterflies flew around my stomach as I finally found hallway A. And I would have found it sooner if some people would just help out a stranger every now and again, but no! Here I am, not even sure of what time it is, hoping to God that I can make it to the classroom before the bell rings, and to make things worse, it was still early in the morning! _AAHH! I hate this school!_

When I finally found room A-12, two things happened that I regret ever happened. One, the teacher saw me instantly, and if she could glare any harder I'd say she was my grandpa in disguise. But that'd be impossible seeing as how he's dead. A cold truth, but one I'm a little indifferent about. He was more of a collector than a grandfather, so to each his own I guess.

Two, the bell rang. Now I had just grabbed the door handle, so when the bell rang, surprising me, I just stood there like an idiot, a deer caught in the headlights if you will. And like an idiot deserves, I got trampled. Well, not before getting a face-full of door, and gracefully falling flat on my ass as a room full of students came rushing out like stampeding bulls.

This was not my day!

When I got home, a nice note was left for me on the front door. Rather, it was stapled to the front door, and tapped on all four corners. And from the terrible scribble scratch on the note, it wasn't hard for me to figure out who it was.

Emily. She was my mentor. What I didn't get in school, she helped me out with. She was really nice like that, even if she was strict as all hell. Well, that, and she helped me control my little secret.

Emily, was a friend of my brother. From what I knew, they met at a summer camp they helped run during their summer vacation, and when things got hairy, as they had told me, they found they had similar ideals. I had no idea what that meant, but no one would tell me any more than that. It felt as something terrible had happened back then, and no one wanted to bring it up anymore. Sure, I wanted to ask, but who was I to pry?

Emily was also married to my brother's best friend. Nick. He was a cool guy, always around when he wasn't working to fight with and teach me how to hunt. But we weren't nearly as close as he and my brother were. It was like they were related. In some ways, even more than my brother and I.

And then there was Angela. Now, at first she seemed to be a little distant towards me, and I never really understood why. Not that I do now, but what I could guess, was that there was something that reminded her about my dad before he died. Honestly, I couldn't see it. I never really got to see the lighter side to my dad. The great Saint Dane. I wish I could have, I really do. But all I have are these dark images of him storming the mansion to yell at my grandfather, or scowling at everyone who got too close. He was so angry on the outside that even with my mother's need for me to meet him, I just couldn't. He was too scary.

But at least my brother knew him. And that was enough for me. He would tell me stories of my dad and the other three pack members of his and all their misadventures when they were young. I always loved these stories. Mainly because if I closed my eyes, I could almost see them. It was nice…

It took me about ten minutes to wrench out all of the staples and remove all of the tape before I read the note. It was such a pain in the ass to have to deal with this! Why couldn't she just stick it underneath the door like a normal person? It isn't hard and takes less than a second if you're in a hurry!

But when I finally read it, I understood why she went to such extremes as to get my attention.

_Dear Alan,_

_ Gone to visit family with Nick. Sorry for leaving you alone, but Michael and them should be back soon enough anyway. Just tell them I left only an hour before they got home, all should be good. As long as you don't let anything slip. THANKS!_

_ Oh, and don't forget to do your breathing exercises! I'll know if you've been skipping out! Later! Have fun!_

There were many times like this before that when it came to watching the house Emily and Nick would just up and leave, but they would never leave me for three days without my brother being here.

_But maybe this isn't all bad…_ I thought. Maybe this was the perfect opportunity to show that I could hold down the fort until they got back. Maybe this was my chance to shine!

And then, with a twist of the knob, my hopes and dreams were shattered. The knob jiggled and stopped mid turn; an obvious bad omen.

"It'd be much easier to shine, if you didn't lock me out!"

With frustrated screams, and violent curses, I began my attempts to breaking into my own home. Life's like that sometimes, I suppose.

It took me an hour to get in, and it would have been sooner if I hadn't wasted all my time looking for an unlatched window. So, thinking clearly for once in my horrible first day alone, I decided to let nature open the door for me.

It didn't take me long to find a nice acorn, nor did it take much effort to fit it in between the bottom of the closed window and the old sill it was shut on. All I had to do was lift slightly and ground out some of the sill to pop the acorn under the gap and presto, I had a mole. Now talking it into growing through the front door, that was hard. Luckily, I'd gotten much better at my gift within the three years staying here.

And then, the lock on the door clicked, and I was in.

Now all I had to do was coax the spruce growing in the living room to leave, but with three days to myself, I decided to just let it be.

But I couldn't help but think, _What a shitty day! _If it wasn't the people at school, then it was the people at home, it seemed. Honestly, I didn't even feel as if this was my home. I never really wanted to say anything to the others, but it just didn't feel right living here with two families. Because when you got right down to it, I was the only one here with no one to love. It really is kind of depressing. But there are the small things that I looked forward too. And as I dropped my bag down in the living room, and began my journey towards relaxation, a little hope began to swell within. My nerves slowly cooled down, and the world didn't seem so annoying anymore. It's pretty amazing what hope can do for some people.

Thankfully that hope was worth something, as the fridge was stocked, there were no rented movies that had to be returned, all the bills were paid, and I wasn't on twin duty. That was something I could live without for a few more days. It's not that I didn't like little Calvin and Christy, but they could definitely get on your nerves when they wanted. But what would you expect when you get the offspring of my brother and Angela. Those kids were destined for ADHD the minute they were conceived.

But it's not like I didn't miss them already. They were a lot of fun to chase around the yard. They loved it when I played swamp monster with them. Covering myself head to toe in grass to chase toddlers _always_ made them smile, even when no one else could.

I guess that's what I loved about this house of ours. We could be free here. I could even practice what my mother used to make me hide. Here, I could grow trees and no one would notice, until I started yelling for them to get me down of course! But that was nothing compared to the freedom here at my brothers home. This place was perfect, and I wouldn't have it change for the world. Well, except for the lonely nights… But that's just the depression talking.

And so, to end a long, androgynous day, I sat on the couch and let my mind wander. I didn't feel like changing and hunting as much as I did just lying around, and that was one of the major differences between the others and I. I wasn't much of a wolf. It makes me laugh sometimes that I can even change at all. I'm so mild-mannered that when it comes to hunting and killing, I don't really bother. Besides, my brother would just make dinner afterwards anyway, why bother with chasing a rabbit when he was cooking chicken and dumplings?

My night was just about perfect. I was curled up in a ball on the couch, wrapped around three different blankets, the A/C was down to sixty where I liked it, my favorite movie "The Wizard of Oz" was on AMC, and I'd just finished a bowl of left over gumbo. Tell me that's not heaven! Skipping out on my breathing exercises added a little to my relaxation as well.

Sitting in the lawn, breathing deeply, and concentrating on shutting out the voices of the world isn't exactly what I'd call calming. Even if the voices thing sounds crazy. But, I'm use to people thinking I'm crazy. It's really not so bad.

The thing is though, I honestly don't mind the noise. Having heard them almost all of my life, it's become almost ambient. When I'm not around their voices sound like distant hums, and when I'm closer to them, they're quick to greet me and laugh. It's nice, in an odd sort of way. They're like my family.

_But, family isn't everything. _

I was only one scene away from finally closing my eyes. That scene with the trees that throw their apples was always my favorite part of Oz. Almost everything in that dream world could give you a piece of its mind, something I could never do. I'm too docile for that. But as the scene began to run its final seconds, and Dorothy was chased away by the trees, a sound came from the driveway.

It was a terrible sound.

A sound I'd wish I'd never heard.

And soon there would be more sounds…

What I heard, was the sound of a car pulling in.

The crunch of the tires on the rocky driveway, the sounds of car doors opening and closing, and the taps of footsteps on the front porch were all that kept me from a good nights rest, which at this point, I desperately needed. My day was long enough without having to deal with strangers after ten o' clock!

But instead, I found myself getting up, putting on my pants that I wore from school, and turning my favorite move off. I pulled my hair back, practiced a smile or two, and took a deep breath.

A scowl pulled itself across my face, my body felt tired, and I was feeling that cranky sense that told me to just ignore it when they rang the door bell. This really wasn't what I needed. Hopefully, there wouldn't be too many people staying tonight.

I cleaned up a bit before they finally knocked on the door, bringing me to ask myself why they just didn't use the door bell. It's less intrusive, and you don't have to pretend you're the police to get my attention. It just seemed obnoxious to me.

But my irritancies turned into worry and fear when the knocking became banging. Three times, a hardened fist slammed against the thick, oak door. My body tensed and I hesitated.

A strange sound came from beyond the doorway, an exacerbated cry or moan. It was hard to determine, but it easily motivated me into action.

My brother once told me, once, every so often, something strange knocks on that door. He was joking at the time, it being Halloween when he told me these things, but at that moment, it all came rushing back to me. The murderous werewolf, the banshee, the demon with red eyes.

He only confessed to one of those stories being true, but it didn't do much to keep my imagination from getting the better of me.

More pounding, shocked me out of my stupor, and a cry of pain brought me back to my senses. Without a second more to waste, I wrenched open the door, accidentally shaving a bit of bark off of the newborn sprout near the door.

But it didn't matter much, seeing as how the second I opened the door, someone, soaked to the bone, fell into arms and pushed me backwards. She was covered in blood spatter, and wild with fear. She took no time to slam the door shut, twist the lock, and set the dead bolt.

Only then did she finally stop to breathe.

With her shoulders quivering, her chest swelling and sinking rapidly, and her eyes darting around at the new surroundings, she began to sink to the floor. Her arms curled around her knees when she finally sank to her lowest, and before long, she was crying.

I on the other hand, hadn't moved a muscle since she knocked me to the ground. Instead, I sat there, resting on my elbows, in complete and total shock. My chest was matted in blood, my head was shooting off questions like a automatic machine gun, and I wasn't even sure if I was still breathing.

And then, at the height of my awkward and disturbing night, a taping sounded on the front porch. At first I thought of school, students tapping their pens and pencils on their desks, but only seconds after did I recognize the sounds… and they weren't pencils…

"_Come out, come out, wherever you are…"_


	3. Show of Force

There was a loud crash as the uninvited stranger punched through the front door. Splintered wood flew in all directions, ricocheting off of the two of us as we crawled away from the beast lurking beyond the doorway. Fear gripped us both; most of it found its way to my side of the court.

What had punched through the door didn't look anything like a human hand, nor that of a werewolf. I'd never seen anything like it living at my grandfather's mansion, nor living here with my older brother. It was completely foreign, and one hundred percent horrifying.

Metal fingers ran long and sharp across the inside of the oak door as it fished for the lock and dead bolt. The knuckles exhaled steam as the fingers curled into a fist and back out much like a pressure release system. Red veins pulsed under the metallic skin as it scraped and clawed mercilessly to unlock our only barricade. It was what I'd feared the moment my brother's scary stories popped into my head.

"_Honestly," _Came the threatening voice; a slight English accent breaking through the grit of it. Meanwhile, the flailing arm reached upwards, gripping the deadbolt and seamlessly ripping it from the door itself with a flick of his index. "_Of all places to go, you hid in a house."_

The woman who was at first crying, was now cringing as she leapt to her feet, racing towards me. "Get up!" She yelled, yanking me to my feet. Her wide, ebony eyes were so fear stricken, that I could only bumble with my words of thanks, confused and whitless.

"We have to go!" She screamed as the hand fished around the knob for the lock behind her, slashing closer and closer to the center lock. The metal flashed in the light as it flailed, and a bright green flashed with it.

That's when I saw it. Our saving grace.

"Look," I said, grabbing her shoulders as another arm punched through the door. Inspiration and a will to act obnoxiously overriding my system like a shot of adrenaline. "You run, I'll hold him off!" I said, desperately trying to sound as though I knew what I was doing, for her sake.

She gave me a look, completely bewildered that I'd even say such a thing after being completely shell-shocked. But, as I told her, I had a plan. And so, shoving her towards the back door, I ran to the front.

I slid under the swiping claws, and made first contact.

_Food?_ The spruce asked in my head, making me smile. _Always so innocent, even in the worst of times_.

_Yeah, so grow for me._

I gripped the stem with my left hand for support, and a tiny branch with my right. The growth was much faster than I anticipated, but I didn't need a steady pace, I needed something fast, and something sharp. So with the growth initialized, I planted my feet wide but steady, and prepared for the massive strength it would take to steer my little plan into my unwanted company.

Guiding the branch with my right arm, the tree grew, and in the blink of an eye, that small branch, became a large, pointed arm; my very own, personal javelin. The pressure pushing me back was immense, but not enough to make me fall. And with the inertia of its quick growth, I directed it right where it needed to be.

The center of the door.

The entire door gave way, shattering like glass, as the large branch ripped through it with ease. There was a quick moment where I finally caught sight of our attacker, but it was much too fast. All I saw was a glint of metal, and a mohawk, before the branch pierced left shoulder. Not something I was expecting.

_Now grow!_ I yelled into the ascending tree. And without hesitation, it did just that. The thick of the tree stayed routed in the living room, and bent forward knocking out a large hole where the doorway once was. The floor was slowly being pushed out as the tree thickened, but by the screaming coming from that girl's attacker, it was going as according to plan.

_Now stop._ I said, letting go of the tree. The link between us severed and the tree grew silent once more. _Back to being natural, as nature dictates_.

Instantly the growth halted. The floor stopped cracking and groaning, the ceiling stopped showering me with bits of wood and plaster, and the wind that had once been blocked by the walls of the house, suddenly rushed inwards, warm and full.

I took no time in rushing out to face my adversary, no matter how high up in the air he hung.

Screaming, disoriented, and thoroughly confused, hung a man that didn't look much like a man at all. From his waste down was coated in what looked like a flexible metal as he writhed in pain, kicking and squirming from the pain fueled reflexes. The branch I'd struck him with had maimed him in such a way that he was hanging only by the bones in his shoulder. I couldn't imagine a worse pain for him right now.

The metal that he wore like the bottom half of a knight's armor twisted and curled up his sides and onto his arms until finally coming to a point on each of his fingers. The metal grew onto his neck, and enveloped his head, leaving a face I could only describe as demonic. It was square, and lined ear to ear with sharp, metal teeth. And on the top of his head, was a green Mohawk.

"What the hell are you?" I asked to myself aloud.

The screaming stopped as he used his left arm to pull himself up as he slashed at the tall oak he currently hung from. Through gritted teeth he groaned in agony, muttering to himself until the branch finally gave way and he fell ten feet to the ground, landing with a harsh _thud._

I was surprised at his escape route, to say the least. And as he began to stand, wrenching the branch from his shoulder, trying to steady himself, I raised my hands. His blood-loss was instantly taking its effect on him, and yet, he still looked as if he wanted to kill me. I couldn't blame him.

"Whoa. Easy." I said, backing away slowly. "I don't want to hurt you."

His face was of utter amusement. "Hurt me? No. I'm going to hurt you!" He said, lunging for me. He was completely out of control, and fighting with anger rather than logic. Obviously that first show of force I'd given him wasn't enough, but I did warn him.

Mid jump, I called to what little plant life grew under the porch. _Bind! _I cried as he flew towards me, claws only feet from my face. _Bind, bind, bind!_

And right when I thought I was a goner, a flash of green flew up from beneath the floorboards. Like living rope, the greenery wrapped around his arms and torso, and pulled him right back onto the hard wood, slamming him in a way that was even more obtrusive than the ten foot drop from the heights of the tree. At least then he didn't have strands of living rope yanking him down.

He growled, and muttered, but as we both knew, he was done. With the loss of blood, and the gaping hole in his right shoulder, I couldn't see him doing much more than complaining from here on.

"So what now, kid?" He spat, looking up at me. "Gonna finish me off? Eh?"

I stared down at the strange man. He wasn't nearly as threatening as I originally thought, but I guess that's just the magic of the unknown. You never know what's going to happen next.

Fortunately, I knew exactly what I was going to do.

_Put him to sleep._

With the command, the weeds wrapped around him slowly began to produce a special breed of flower.

"What- what the hell is this?" He screamed, trying to wriggle out of his strange predicament. I couldn't blame him. After being speared by a tree, then bound up by normal crab grass, it would be quite a scary site to see a plethora of blue flowers sprouting all around you. It probably didn't help much that the insides were barbed.

"They're called, _Rebecca's roses._" I said. "They're not harmful, but they'll knock you out for hours with one whiff." A smile creeping across my face as I squatted down eye to eye with the strange man.

"That's—Tha…" And he was out. His eyelids closed around red, angry eyes, and his features slowly started to change.

The metal that once clung to his skin, which I thought _was_ his skin, started to recede. It balled up like liquid around certain joints on his body like his shoulders and knees and dove into his pores. I'd never seen anything like it in my entire life.

Well, I haven't ever been in a situation like this in my entire life either.

I sighed as a great relief rolled into me. Like the wind washing over me, it felt as the past five minutes were slowly being washed away; leaving me with a slight feeling of relaxation and a very-welcomed sense of accomplishment.

That is, until a harsh blow to the back of my head sent me reeling forward, rolling down the steps of the porch, landing face first into a fist full of driveway. I backpedaled hard, spinning on the spot, anger flooding my system. "What the hell was that for?" I yelled, spotting the girl from before.

She stood, hyperventilating above her sleeping attacker. Her eyes were narrow slits of rage piercing through the easy night we found ourselves occupying. In her hands was a bent umbrella. The back of my head still hurts remembering that damned umbrella.

"You're like them!"

"What of it?" I yelled back, "It doesn't give you a reason to smash a perfectly good umbrella over someone's head, now does it?" I said glaring back at her.

I rubbed hard at the back of my head, trying to massage away the pain.

"You mean, you're not trying to catch me?" She said, her anger towards me slowly fading into curiosity. But before I could answer, that curiosity turned into exhaustion, and that exhaustion came from under her.

"What's that smell?" She said, the fumes of the roses slowly creeping up into her nostrils. Her knees trembled to keep her balance, her arms slumped, and her shoulders sank. And with one last breath, she fell forward, and passed out.

After a day like that, there was only one question I had to ask. One little question. "What the hell was that all about?" I screamed.

Hours passed by relatively quickly as I cleared out the basement while the other two slept. I honestly had no clue as to what to do with them. Every thirty minutes or so I'd check up on them after I set them up in the living room, but the plan always remained the same; keep'em sleepin' until the basement's ready.

One patio set, two grills, and countless boxes later, the basement was finally clear. And when it finally was empty, it looked like a completely different room… so did the living room. Where it was once quaint and open, it was now blocked off almost completely by boxes.

After the clean-up, I was off to gather two chairs from the living room, and some thick rope from the tool shed outside. And once that was done, I was finally ready to deal with my intruders.

First things first, I had to bandage the two up. The attacker had a split right up his chin that ran a wide, red cut that refused to stop bleeding, and the hole in his shoulder wasn't helping much.

The girl was much more of a problem. She had three long gashes running across her back, and with me being the prude I am, I forced myself to patch her up as best I could, blindfolded.

_To the right, _said my little helpers. God knows I couldn't have done it alone, and so I had to resort to the Disney approach, as my brother calls it. If he could only have been there to see me trying to patch this strange girl up. Little dancing blades of grass swaying in the doorway, or what was left of it, as I fumbled around with stranded gauze… it would have made him puke at the cuteness of it all. _Can tonight get any stranger…_

Thankfully it only took a few minutes of concentration and trust. Thankfully, plants don't lie… _God I'm weird._

The reflection of who I am always made my eyebrows cock and my views of myself sway. No matter which way you looked at it, my little gift as my mother put it, was about the strangest there was. And the way I've grown to rationalize plants talking to me, only made it seem more and more like I was losing my mind. _At this point, it won't be long until I'm giggling in a corner to myself eating crayons. _

Daylight crept in through the basement window, seeping light into the occupied dungeon. I sat, resting my arms on the back of a chair I'd snagged from the kitchen, exhausted and fading in and out as I waited for the other two to wake up. Sleep deprivation was assuredly taking its effect on me within minutes of forcing the other two in their two chairs and tying them up I found I was way too tired to just sit down and wait. No, I couldn't for fear of the big man waking up and attacking again, or the frantic girl running away to alert the cops that she's been attacked by a bunch of supernatural beings on the outskirts of Harbor Hill. Lord knows we get far too many complaints of our 'dogs' scarring off hunters.

And so, I stayed up, rummaging through the beaten car out front, sporting a front fender that'd been run over and dragged along enough to become part of the undercarraige. The sight got a chuckle from me, but it didn't last long. A passing glance back at the house was enough to take that smile and twist it back into a tired frown.

I must've wasted half an hour digging around in that car, and after a while, I had to give up. The girl had nothing on her. No wallet, no personalized jewelry, and nothing in her pockets. She was completely anonymous.

The guy, who was much more exposed than he was earlier, also had no wallet or id. I mean, not that there was anywhere on him to check. And I'm quite sure a cavity search was much too much to ask of myself at even the best of circumstances. Just the thought made me shake with disgust.

A search of the car outside turned up only a drivers manual, a bag of cash, and a backseat full of trash and cigarette butts. The girl, as it turns out, wasn't much for cleanliness. Not that it mattered much, but it was something. Something that lead to nothing.

I'd mulled it over once, twice, three times too many as delirium began to take effect, and soon I found myself drooling onto the back of the chair, deep asleep with my head resting on my arms. I definitely deserved a moments rest after the ordeal that had come and gone. And so, I slept.

But it wasn't for long, as the sounds of moans and groans woke me from my sleep, along with the sounds of tightening rope, and an early morning yawn.

I opened my eyes to the sight of the other two stretching as much as they could under the circumstances as the morning light awoke them. At first, I was a bit disoriented. The power nap I'd just enjoyed seemed to clear the night right off my slate as I slept, but as I stretched, leaning back on my chair, it all came back to me.

And in that instant, as we all looked back and forth to one another, we all went from tired and groggy, to awake and angry. Newborn hatreds awoke in the stocky, mowhawked man, and also in myself; meanwhile a quick realized fear began to play itself on the girl's.

"What the fu—"

"Where am I?"

The two yelled. Then they looked at one another, and instantly, they were back at square one. The girl scared of the guy, the guy angry at the girl.

For me, it was like the night never ended, instead we hit an intermission where they slept for act two, and I hosted a one man redecorating show. The two started yelling over one another, and I couldn't make sense of any of it. Between the blood rushing in my head and the pounding in my eardrums, their yelling wasn't worth much to figuring all of this out. I'd been up for over thirty-five hours, and needless to say, I was a bit cranky.

"SHUT UP!" I yelled, my hands tangled in my hair from trying to push out the growing headache pounding on my brain. I bet if I were to put a stethescope to my skull it'd sound like a bongo drum being played by someone with palsy.

The two clammed up instantly. The girl looked down, a bit afraid in her situation. Mohawk man though stopped only to glare at me for a moment, but before he could say anything, I cut him off.

"Look, the minute, either of you start yelling, you're going back to sleep." I said, annoyed. "It's too early, I've been up all night trying to figure out why there was any reason to demolish the front door, and all the while _you two_ got too sleep! So let's cut the crap and get down to business!"

Maybe I was a bit too cranky…

The man scoffed, but the girl remained reclusive. This wasn't going to be a good morning. Not at all…

"Now, can I at least get your names?" I asked, toning it down, hoping that the girl would at least give me a glance. Her silence wasn't only frustrating, it was depressing. She had such big eyes, that it was sad to see them almost shut into little slits of fear and shame.

"Shove off!" Said the man. He was proving to be much less affected by the night before.

It caught me off guard. Not the statement, mind you, but the fact that in their situation (tied up in a stranger's basement, being watched by someone who could control nature) that they wouldn't be spilling their guts.

And then it hit me.

_This is all wrong… but maybe…_

I stood without a word, drawing both of their attentions.

"Where the hell are you going?" Yelled the angry man.

I turned on my heel.

"I'm going to school."

The man grinned, the woman didn't.

"And just to make sure you two don't try to leave while I'm gone…" _Grow._

The ground shook under us. Unbeknownst to them, my gift works in strange ways. Whereas plants that exist under normal circumstances need to be close enough to me that I can touch them to grow or attack, there is one special vine that I could grow without seeds or distance. It's the one blossoming miracle I can call my own, and it's the only one I can produce from nothing.

The surface under us cracked and rose in arking triangles as vines pushed themselves to the surface, blossoming as their leaves touched the cool air in the basement. They didn't need light to grow, nor did they need me to keep conscious. They didn't talk, nor did they care, but they did obey orders. And as they rose to cover the walls, stuck to the ceiling, and snaked around the two squirming guests I had refusing to talk, I smiled.

Soon the entire room looked as if it were painted green with thick plant vines, and blossoming blue flowers. White diamonds formed in the larger ones, and in the largest of them all, which looked to have a foot and a half circumferance, the diamonds produced tiny blue specs.

"Now," I said giving the man an ice cold stare, "since _you_ won't shut up," I turned to the girl who was wide eyed and trying her best to kick away the vines, "and _you_ won't talk, then I guess you're going to have to sleep away the next two days until my brother get's back."

The man looked like he was ready to kill me, but the girl had something completely new on her face. Deep thought. And then she stared at me, harder than I think I'd ever been stared at in my life. It looked as though she was analyzing my face, trying her best to remember who I look like when finally, I began to turn.

"Wait! This is Michael's house!" She said, stopping me in my tracks.

I thought of just turning the nob, heading upstairs and going to sleep, but the mention of my brother's name was much too much for me to just wave off. It was yet another delimna. I was way too tired to fight, but I couldn't just leave her there with that ass of a man who, I guess wanted to kill her. It's hard to piece things together when the puzzle doesn't give any clues.

_Cut her loose._

I watched as the vine closest too her began to corrode and fall away. Green slime dripped from the vine as if it were being washed away, and underneath was a sharp, spearhead, produced from nothing.

The other two had no idea what was going on until the ropes on the girl fell to her sides. _Put the other to sleep._

Finally, some answers.

Little did I know where those answers would take me.


End file.
